Off payroll working in the public sector

From April 2017 workers working though intermediaries are no longer subject to the IR35 rules if they are engaged to work in the public sector.

For these purposes, public sector is any organisation which is affected by the Freedom of Information legislation. This therefore includes:

Government departments and agencies

The armed forces

The NHS and more local bodies through which NHS services are delivered

Local authorities and their departments

Schools, colleges and higher and further education establishments

The BBC

Channel 4

Publicly owned companies

The public body (as the end user) is responsible for deciding whether the engagement falls within IR35, and if so, the payer (which may be an agency) must include the payments in payroll, deducting PAYE and NIC from the amounts paid over, and bearing the employer NIC in relation to the payment. No tax or NIC is to be deducted from amounts of VAT.

The net amount received is regarded by HMRC as the turnover of the company rather than the invoiced amount, although company law may require additional disclosures to be made in the company accounts.

The income can be distributed to the employee as net pay, on which no tax or NIC is due – these payments would be reported through the company RTI reports as a non taxable payment. The company will bear no corporation tax if it has no income other than that received net of tax in this way. If the individual draws the amount as dividends there will be no tax liability, but no refund of NIC will be given.

There is detailed guidance on the responsibilities of all parties involved on HMRC’s website – search for “off payroll working”.

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